I'm as S5ii user I need second camera body but I'm torn between the S1rii & S1ii. I mainly shoot stills but the dilemma I'm facing is that I would love to get into printing but I'm not sure if 44mp of the S1rii is necessary. Also I want something fast enough to capture sports action & dancing. So the S1ii is very apealing. The draw back on the S1ii is that I've heard that the colors are not as good. Maybe for video but not photography.......so I've heard through different media comments. (reddit, YouTube, other online forums, etc) I wouldn't mind the S1ii even though it's not tailored to photography because higher megapixels really aren't that necessary. Could someone who has experienced both cameras from a photography point of view give me some insight & clarity on some truth v fiction between these two cameras?
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S1rii or S1ii for sports etc.
- Thread starter N_Trovert
- Start date
The fact that you buy a specific camera does not make you a great photographer immediately. No matter which camera. You need to work on it. The first 10.000 images are the worst
I do not use the S1ii. I used to have the S5, S5ii and I use currently the S1Rii. The AF of the S1Rii is sufficient enough for sports photography. For sports & AF tracking there is a substantial difference to the AF of the S5ii. I am very happy with the AF of the S1Rii for field hockey. It is not Sony a1 level, but good enough.
But always bear in mind that for great sport photography shots, it all depends on the photographer, not on the camera. There have been great shot already with manual focus 40 years ago. You have to know the sport and think in advance. Choose the right lens and the right position, depending on what exactly you want to shoot. Do not run after great shots. Sit and wait for the right opportunity. Exercise again and again. No AF in the world can replace your experience after many, many exercises and sport events.
For sports photography, the ability to crop is more important than a faster AF. Depending on the size of the sport field you are planning to shoot, 40MP is IMHO the minimum. A Field hocky field has the same size like a soccer field (for adults). The 44MP of the S1Rii is "good enough" for this, although I would have preferred 60MP for this, to make prints of crops larger. But in normal daylife, I would never use a 60MP camera, because my other kind of photography does not need that much resolution. High MP sensors are a ballast for me.
If you want to print large, how large is this? How often do you print this maximum size? You have the S5ii already. What are you missing with 24MP resolution?
Never heard of that
The S1ii has a significant better buffer than the S1Rii. This can make a difference for sports photography. But I never had a problem with my S1Rii. But I am not a fan of this "spray and pray" attitude of some sport photographers. Who wants to look later through 20.000 images of one single game? You need with both cameras the right CF express card to avoid buffer problems. Check the Panasonic site for this.
I do not know the fps of the S1ii vs S1Rii. That could be a criteria, depending on the sport. Pick the right lens for the camera. I tried many different ones. I ended up with the Sigma 70-200/2.8 DG DN sports and am very happy with it, but only in combination with the 44MP for field hockey. Otherwise I would rather need a 100-400. But this is for field hockey only. Other sports might need other lenses/distances/indoor/outdoor etc.
Hello,
I use an H5D60 for reproduction (fantastic CCD colors!), an M11 and an X2DII for travel, and an S1II for wildlife, sports, and night photography.
The only camera I have trouble with AWB is the M11, which is really too often magenta. The S1II is very good, and the multi-shot is very comfortable to use, with excellent results even in low light.
Question about the S1II: the vertical photo display is vertical on the screen (when looking at the camera horizontally). I'm sure you can ask it to leave these photos in the capture position and thus take advantage of the entire screen, but after several menu searches, I still haven't found it!!! The trick is hiding in a little corner... If a kind forum finds it...?!?! Thanks in advance
I use an H5D60 for reproduction (fantastic CCD colors!), an M11 and an X2DII for travel, and an S1II for wildlife, sports, and night photography.
The only camera I have trouble with AWB is the M11, which is really too often magenta. The S1II is very good, and the multi-shot is very comfortable to use, with excellent results even in low light.
Question about the S1II: the vertical photo display is vertical on the screen (when looking at the camera horizontally). I'm sure you can ask it to leave these photos in the capture position and thus take advantage of the entire screen, but after several menu searches, I still haven't found it!!! The trick is hiding in a little corner... If a kind forum finds it...?!?! Thanks in advance
Do you know how much reach you need for your intended subjects? What lenses are you using now on the S5II? Do you need to go longer?
The main advantage of the S1RII is the ability to crop. But, if you don’t routinely crop - which is to say, if you can get enough reach from your lenses - then that advantage is null. Of course, the higher res sensor will print better for large prints - especially if you are filling the frame. How big do you want to print?
The S1II will produce cleaner files above ISO 6400, which is where the S1RII begins to use NR even on raw files. I could see this being important for indoor events like dancing. Also, since it is a semi-stacked sensor, the readout is faster. This will not affect your images if you shoot mechanical shutter, but it is said that this will improve AF performance, which stands to reason, but I’ve not seen a direct comparison yet that attempts to characterize the actual effect. The S1II also has faster/more flexible high-speed drive modes (i.e., 40 fps and above).
I wouldn’t worry about color if you shoot raw, but then I’ve not read/watched the references you list above.
So, if you can more-or-less fill the frame of your subjects using the glass you have/can afford/are willing to carry, then the S1II is probably a better choice, due to high-ISO performance and (probably) better AF performance. Unless you want to print large.
If you are going to get longer lenses as well, I’d suggest starting on the S5II with the longer glass and then see if cropping is leaving you with files that are insufficient from a pixel-count standpoint. Or, if you commonly end up above ISO 6400.
The main advantage of the S1RII is the ability to crop. But, if you don’t routinely crop - which is to say, if you can get enough reach from your lenses - then that advantage is null. Of course, the higher res sensor will print better for large prints - especially if you are filling the frame. How big do you want to print?
The S1II will produce cleaner files above ISO 6400, which is where the S1RII begins to use NR even on raw files. I could see this being important for indoor events like dancing. Also, since it is a semi-stacked sensor, the readout is faster. This will not affect your images if you shoot mechanical shutter, but it is said that this will improve AF performance, which stands to reason, but I’ve not seen a direct comparison yet that attempts to characterize the actual effect. The S1II also has faster/more flexible high-speed drive modes (i.e., 40 fps and above).
I wouldn’t worry about color if you shoot raw, but then I’ve not read/watched the references you list above.
So, if you can more-or-less fill the frame of your subjects using the glass you have/can afford/are willing to carry, then the S1II is probably a better choice, due to high-ISO performance and (probably) better AF performance. Unless you want to print large.
If you are going to get longer lenses as well, I’d suggest starting on the S5II with the longer glass and then see if cropping is leaving you with files that are insufficient from a pixel-count standpoint. Or, if you commonly end up above ISO 6400.
Menu -> Playback -> Playback mode 1 -> Rotate Display = OFFQuestion about the S1II: the vertical photo display is vertical on the screen (when looking at the camera horizontally). I'm sure you can ask it to leave these photos in the capture position and thus take advantage of the entire screen, but after several menu searches, I still haven't found it!!! The trick is hiding in a little corner... If a kind forum finds it...?!?! Thanks in advance
Actually, looks like I need to retract this. According to the testing Bill Claff did, both the S1RII and the S1II apply NR to raws at ISO 6400 and above.
So, perhaps there is little difference between the two bodies at extended ISO after all.